The Fragile
by obsidianpsycho
Summary: AU Chapters based on NIN song The Fragile. Ginny and Sirius have a daughter. Revolves around her time at Hogwarts and her being discovered for who she really is...starts slow, but get's better, I SWEAR. My first, R&R please! GWSB, HPLL, HGRW  OC!
1. she shines

**she shines**

This story takes place in an alternative universe where Sirius was brought back after the veil incident. The chapters are going to based on the lyrics to the song _The Fragile_, by NIN. Hope you enjoy!

This chapter is set at Sirius's POV, and the next it'll probably be from Ginny's…after that it'll skip ahead quit a lot and be from their daughter's.

Disclaimer: Sirius Black belongs to the great and lovely JK Rowling, as does everything else in this story except for the parts of the plot that you don't recognize.

Sirius sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and reflected on what had just happened.

The leaves had turned, Sirius could see as he half-heartedly gazed out the window; it was fall. He sighed and turned his eyes from the window down towards his firewisky. _How did I let this happen?_, Sirius thought bitterly; he remembered when everything had changed, more than four years prior to the dark night that he was currently facing alone, in what had once been his mother's kitchen..

Sirius remembered that night in the Department of Mysteries, in the Ministry of Magic. Harry had had a vision – _because that sorry, slimy git_ Snivelly_ couldn't teach him _**Occlumency**_ properly… -_of Sirius being tortured and held hostage by Voldemort, as a way of luring Harry to him. Harry had taken the bait, riding to Sirius's "rescue" bringing along what had seemed to Sirius like half of Hogwarts' students. The Order had been alerted to what was happening and Sirius finally got to be a part of the battle again. He had actually felt, for the first time in years, as though he was actually doing something that had _counted_.

The first sight that greeted Sirius when he had walked through the doors to the Ministry that night was the littlest Weasley leaning unsteadily on what must have been a broken ankle, cornered by four Death Eaters as she dueled them for her life. That had been the night that Ginny received not only Sirius's respect, but also his admiration. Later, after he had been hit by Bella's stunner and was falling through the veil, it was that scene – that steady look of outrage that Gin had on for the four Death Eaters – that was burning in his mind, somehow proving to him that things actually might be alright.

And things were alright. Sirius didn't know where he had actually gone that night when he passed through the veil, but that never really mattered to him; he wasn't dead, wherever he was. Dumbledore, shortly before his death, figured this out and had found a way to bring Sirius back. So there it was; another chance at life. And this time, he wasn't going to fuck it up.

But he did fuck it up. After Harry defeated Voldemort for the final time at the end of his last year at Hogwarts, Sirius did something incredibly stupid. Sirius fell in love with a witch who was more than twenty years younger than him. To this day he still didn't know which the worst of his actions was; the fact that he completely and utterly loved this girl – a girl young enough to be his own daughter – for no apparent reason other than what could only be called obsession; the fact that he actually acted on his feelings for her; or the fact that she was the child of one of Sirius's most respected friends, Arthur Weasley. _Yes, _Sirius thought dismally,_ that was __**defiantly**__the worst bit._

Sirius couldn't explain why or even how he had come to love Ginny Weasley, except by saying that she _shined_. That year, at the Order's Christmas party was the night that Sirius chose to approach Ginny with his newly found feelings; thinking about that conversation still made him squirm.

"So what you're saying is that _you _love _me_, is this correct?" Sirius wanted to run. Not only did he feel like a peervy old man, hitting on one of his colleague's daughters – _his only daughter_, Sirius corrected himself internally – but now she was mocking him. And she was; her eyes were dancing at him as she tried to suppress giggles, and she had a smile that was growing by the second tugging at her lips. _Oh yes, this is going well_, Sirius thought angrily.

"You know what? Just forget it, please, dear **God**, forget it. This was a mistake, my feelings were a mistake, and falling in love –", Sirius all but yelled. Ginny interrupted him, "Did you know, that when your angry your nose twitches?".

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you? Do you go around all day and ask yourself, 'hmm, what is something _really_ unsuitable that I could tell someone at a _really _inappropriate time that would make someone feel_really_ uncomfortable? Oh! I know! I could comment on their nasal cavities!'"

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at Sirius's near hysterical high-pitched imitation of what she supposed was supposed to be her voice. "Great, and now she's laughing at me!", he said as he began to bash his head against the hard brick wall that lined the porch outside of Grimmauld Place.

Quickly, Ginny stopped laughing and grabbed him by the shoulders, making him look at her. "Don't do that you git! I didn't say 'eew you disgust me', now did I?" Ginny stared hard into Sirius's stormy eyes, trying to make him listen. "Yeah…I guess…but you started laughing! And mocking me!" Ginny never realized how well Sirius could pout before that moment.

"Because I love you too you fucking dolt, and when you asked to have a word with me _in front of my parents_ at the belldin' Christmas party, I didn't really expect that it would be so that my ex-crush's god-father could inform me that he requited my un-requited love. Jesus, you took me by surprise is all!" Silence wrung out throughout Grimmauld Place's backyard. Finally Sirius spoke. "Well when you put it that way, I suppose that your reaction could be defined as shock…"

_ Obviously it was meant to be_, Sirius snorted.

Despite that night, or maybe because of it, Sirius and Ginny decided to take each other seriously. They started off just sending owls to each other, in an unsaid agreement to try and get to know each other on a more personal level. They talked about their respective childhoods, about how much of a bastard Sirius's father had been, and they talked about how isolated Ginny had always felt being the only girl and always receiving the least attention. They talked about Sirius's time at school and about Ginny's first year, deciding to only briefly mention the Chamber of Secrets. And eventually, they talked about the future. Sirius had finally gotten his name cleared, and had been turned down on his offer to let Harry stay with him because he was taking some time for himself to be alone. Sirius didn't need a job; he had inherited numerous thousands of gallons from the deaths of a few distant relatives who had taken a liking to him. Ginny on the other hand had always wanted to travel, and do something like working with dragons or teaching. Or else maybe designing things; she didn't really know at all yet.

After less than three months had passed, they began sneaking around together. No one knew that they saw each other; they thought better of telling anyone about them…at least for the time. Weeks passed; months. After Ginny finished at Hogwarts she began working odd jobs to save up enough money to open her own store; she hadn't seceded what she would sell there yet. Things weren't always happy though; still no one knew about their secret relationship, and it had started to put a strain on them both. And then it happened, the point at which Sirius fucked up his second chance: Ginny was pregnant.

They had a huge fight when she told him, Sirius saying that they'd never be able to raise a normal child with her being so ashamed of their relationship; Ginny saying that Sirius was too to be able to raise a decent child, and then the final statement that got Sirius to where he was now sitting alone, getting drunk in his mother's godforsaken kitchen; "Yeah? Well then maybe you should have been a good little girl and kept your legs together."

And POOF – she was gone with a rude gesture that told Sirius _exactly_ where he could put his immaturity.  
_  
What is soddin' wrong with me? _

AN: What'd you think? Sorry if the format was fucked up…this is my first fanfiction and I just wasn't sure about it. Sorry if there were any sort of misstates, and please feel free to point them out. Let me know if you enjoyed it, cause there'll be more to it to come…it gets better, scout's honor D


	2. in a world full of ugliness

**in a world full of ugliness**

Please enjoy! 

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it.

Ginny shivered. _Damn it's cold_, she thought bitterly. She's only been in America for two days, but already her small one room New York apartment up on the eighth floor felt to her more like a cage than a home.

After leaving Sirius's she had returned to her home and confessed to her mother that she was pregnant. _Bad choice that_, Ginny thought as she thought and she gazed out her window watching the snow sprinkle car roofs. She didn't mention who the father was. Molly wouldn't have cared anyway. Completely horrified that her only daughter had given it up to someone before marriage, Molly completely lost it. Before Ginny even knew what was happening her mother had already begun to throw all of Ginny's belongings into a trunk and was summoning it out the door.

"Of all the things! All the ways that you could have SHAMED this family you had to get yourself knocked up like some common harlot…." Her rant continued as it woke the entire house.

Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Arthur all gathered sleepily in the living room watching this all take place, as they slowly pieced together what Molly was saying. Hermione was the first to comprehend. "Ginny! How could you have been so reckless? What in the world is wrong with you?! Have you lost your mind?!"

_Funny that_, Ginny thought sourly as she looked down at Hermione's own growing bump. She hadn't been too responsible herself. By this time Hermione wasn't the only one screaming at Ginny; everyone understood what was happening and they had all banded together to give her their own two cents on the issue. _I've had about enough of this_, she thought angrily. Mrs. Weasley wasn't done though.

"You are BANNED! You have put a grievous shame into my heart and you are no longer welcome here! Do you hear me? You are no longer a Weasley! You –"

Ginny had had enough. "I? I am done here, done with you people and your hypocrisy. You all want to act as though I am the only person that was ever careless; fine. I will leave here, and none of you will EVER know my child, and it will never be subjected to your hatefulness." And with that, Ginny sized up her trunk off of the front lawn and apparated for her last time off of the doorstep of the Burrow.

Ginny sighed again and looked down at her barley-there bump. _Oh well, at least my baby will never have to go through anything like that…_

Five years later, Ginny was doing alright for herself. After legally changing her name to Ginevera Warren, Ginny now worked as a local editorialist at one of New York's hottest magazines, _The Witch's Brew. _ Once she had started making enough money to get by and then some, she had finally gotten rid of her old one bedroom – which she had had to alter a bit, to make room from the now four and a half year old daughter, Cherri Warren.

Cherri was a beautiful child with curly black hair and sparkling green eyes. She was very energetic and extremely smart, already knowing her ABC's, counting 1 through 100 and printing the whole alphabet. Yes, Ginny loved her little girl more than anything else. Not a day went by that she didn't commend herself for making the right choice about keeping her baby. Then again, not a day went by that she didn't think of Sirius.

Ginny knew that one day she was going to have to tell her daughter exactly what had happened, and she also knew that it was Cherri's right to know her father, and the rest of Ginny's family for that matter. For now though Ginny was just going to keep on doing the best that she could. And to start with, Ginny was going to make sure that Cherri knew all that there was to be known about both the muggle world and the wizerding world.

AN: R&R please, tell me what you think! Sorry it's so short, but I'm posting chapter three along with this one. Oh, and Cherri is supposed to be pronounced like Cherry.


	3. she matters when everything is meaningle

**she matters when everything is meaningless**

Okay, so this chapter starts off with Cherri being fourteen, and she's attending her American wizerding school, Blue Lake's school of Magic. Shitty name, I know. Try to just overlook it though, please? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Nope, still don't own it.

Cherri Marie Warren was pissed off. When she woke up three hours late on the first Monday morning of her fourth year, she knew that the year was starting off bad. How bad it would get though, she could have never imagined. After hurriedly doing a slight cleansing spell on herself and her robes, Cherri shoved her feet into her sneakers and took off out the door, barley remembering to summon her bag after her.

Blue Lake covered a total of twenty miles, when you included it's quidditch field, the gardens and the lake. All of the buildings were spread out flat, and it took forever to get anywhere. That was the part that Cherri hated the most.

Breakfast being long over, she began to quickly walk towards her third period class, History of Magic. And that was when it had happened, right as Cherri's hand took hold of the doorknob of the History of Magic classroom: something wet and cold poured onto Cherri's head causing her to screech and twirl around, already drawing her wand. Standing about fifteen yards in front of her was the single person who hated her more than anyone else, Shannon Morgan.

Shannon and Cherri had met long before they began attending school together when they were eleven. Shannon's father and Ginny had briefly dated when the girls were still in muggle Pre School together. One night Shannon's father Chris had Ginny and Cherri over for dinner, and Shannon had never really forgiven Cherri for turning her beloved blue panda into a miniature alligator that had eventually tried to eat Shannon's head. Who could blame Cherri though; Shannon had always been awful. Once they started magic school together, things had only gotten worse. Cherri was always better at flying then Shannon - Ginny told her that she had gotten it from her father – and her grades were also always better than Shannon's. And then in third year when Shannon's boyfriend had dumped her for Cherri, well that was when the hate had really begun.

This time, it appeared as though Shannon had decided to get the jump on Cherri, and had summoned one of the vases of flowers that Blue Lake had magically suspended near the ceilings in all of the halls. Cherri had never liked those damned flowers.

It wasn't Cherri's fault that their parents had dated, and it wasn't her fault that she actually paid attention during class, and as for the panda, that bitch had it coming! And now Cherri was angry, her hands and mouth working before her mind had caught up with the fact that she was hexing Shannon, literally, into oblivion. _Oh shit_, Cherri thought as the History of Magic teacher, Mr. Henderson, opened the classroom door and saw Shannon unconscious on the ground, purple skin with warts, pig snout, bat ears, frog legs and all._ Really_, Cherri thought optimistically, _it was probably worth it all just to see what a wonderful shade of purple Henderson had turned_. "Warren…get yourself to the office _**NOW**_!"

"Ms. Warren," Blue Lake's principal was probably the fakest excuse for a human that Cherri had ever seen. She was in her early twenties – "That woman knew nothing about raising children", Ginny has said heatedly once when she had been informed that Cherri was being expelled for two days on account of _accidentally_ blowing up the charms classroom during her second year – with large watery blue eyes that were empty as her mind, glossy platinum-blond hair, and a tiny little body that Cherri was just dying to break in half. _Gods how I loathe that woman_, Cherry thought as she was being screamed at by the hag. "Ms. Warren…Ms. Warren…MS. WARREN?" Principal Brittney (I kid you _not_), looked annoyed. Cherri had zoned out. "Hmm..? Oh, shit, yeah, can you repeat that once? Sorry; my mind was drifting." They sat there in silence for a moment as Britney narrowed her eyes. "What I was saying, Ms. Warren, was that given your history of what I can only describe as _violence_, the rest of the administrators and myself have decided that perhaps this is not the best place for you."

She let her words sink in. Cherri felt as though she would cry. Blue Lake, as much as she hated it, was her home…she had, regardless of her offence, always been permitted to return to school…at least after a few days. But now this little Barbie-wannabe was telling her that…."So you're saying that you're expelling me?" Cherri gave her The Death Eyes. Principal Britney squirmed, "Well…yes. I have already owled Headmaster Black and told him to be expecting a new student within days. Cherri Warren, you are hereby no longer welcome at Blue Lake." Cherri wasn't listening, though. She was already walking down the hall, summoning her broom and trunk, determined not to cry.

Blue Lake was located in New Hampshire - about a five hour journey from Cherri and Ginny's apartment in New York, on broom. Cherri knew; she had angrily made that journey countless times. _This one will be the last one though_, Cherri thought miserably.

When Cherri arrived home, Ginny was waiting. As Cherri unlocked the apartment's door and walked into the kitchen, her mother was sitting at the table with her lips pressed into a thin line. _Oh fuck, she's mad_. That was a truly bad sign, because Ginny had never been angry at her daughter before this, no matter what her offence had been. "Expelled?" Ginny had barley whispered the word, but still the anger carried perfectly well over to Cherri, who was leaning against the doorjamb. "Mum, listen –" Ginny silenced her. "No, _you_ listen," The hand that Ginny had resting under her chin on the table trembled slightly, "I have always been very easy going with you. I have not once reprimanded you for you're actions, and I now see that I should have." Cherri stood there, silent, waiting for her to finish. She hated when her mom got like this.

"I've always tried to do the best that I could….I've only ever wanted for you to grow up well, and not get hurt." Ginny began to cry. "Mom….mom…please don't…." Cherri felt tears brimming up behind her eyes. She hated to see her mom cry. Ginny took a deep breath, "I'm sending you to stay with your father." Cherri was outraged. "What?! You can not be serious. After everything that has happened….after how he treated you…" Ginny had told her about her father, about how everything had started well and then steadily gotten worse.

"Cherri, listen honey," Ginny walked up to Cherri and wrapped her arms around her. "Your father…he's gone through a lot of hard times in his life. Things have never been easy for him, and he was afraid that once you came along he would take all of his troubles out on you like his father had done to him." Cherri was breathing deeply, absorbing this information. She didn't really know much about her father. "But honey, Sirius and I have owled each other a few times over this past year, and well, he wants to know you." Ginny stepped back and looked Cherri in the eyes. "And kiddo, as much as I love you, I need some time to breathe easy and know that you're safe - and not getting into trouble. Honey, your father is the headmaster of Hogwarts. I know that if you attend school there then you'll be safe – and he'll have his eye on you."

"But…" Cherri started; Ginny didn't let her finish. "Baby, I've already made up my mind." Cherri sighed, knowing that she had been beaten. "So what's the plan, then?"

Ginny smiled. She knew that this was for the best.


	4. fragile

**Fragile**

**Disclaimer: **looks at self in mirror nope. Not JK Rowling, yet.

The plan, as Cherri's mother had said, was that Cherri would get to England on a plane, take a taxi to King's Cross station, find platform 9 ¾ , run through the wall, ride to Hogwarts in the red steam engine, and meet her father at the Hogwarts station somewhere before dark Thursday evening. Truthfully Cherri had never been so nervous in her life.

The plane ride had gone along fine; Cherri had traveled quit a bit with her mother during the summer and Christmas; she actually rather enjoyed muggle flying. Running head long at a brick wall had been considerably less fun, but once Cherri was standing unharmed on the other side of platform 9 ¾ it really hadn't seemed so bad. Waiting however, was going to be the death of Cherri. For the first hour, she had been content with just fiddling with enchanting her muggle iPOD so that it played songs that matched the listeners mood and looking out the window. It didn't take long for that to get old though. Probably the worst part of the whole ordeal for Cherri was the fact that she was the magically-driven steam engine's only passenger. _Eerie it is_, Cherri thought grumpily.

Cherri sighed and pulled down her trunk from the cargo rail. Cherri loved her trunk; it was the only thing she had that had once been her father's. It was a battered little thing made of red dragon-hide, with various band stickers that Sirius and Cherri, respectively, have placed on it. The inside of it had a fake-out bottom on it, enchanted to make any unwelcome snoop see only rubbish and the bottom of the trunk. The entire trunk, as a matter of fact, was enchanted. You could fit absolutely anything inside of it. Cherri knew; she had hidden a number of boys inside of it last year. Cherri grinned to herself. "On the upside of this misadventure, I have heard that Brit-boys _are_ rather attractive…" That was Cherri for you though; always thinking of her latest conquest.

What Cherri was looking for right that moment was located in the bottom of the trunk. After removing all other contents, she lifted up the fake-out bottom and placed it on the seat next to her. Carefully placed in on top of her beloved lavender black-rose comforter was a picture, of her mother and father. In the picture, Sirius looked to be about twenty five; she knew that that was not so, though, because her mother had told Cherri that he was more than twenty years older than Ginny herself. _Mum's as bad as me_, Cherri thought with a small smile, _always going for older guys_. The picture showed Sirius and Ginny standing in front of a huge fire place inside of a very dark room. Despite the morose location, Cherri's mother and father looked as if it were the best day of their lives. Both of them wore huge grins; Sirius had his arm draped around Ginny's shoulders and Ginny's hand was bunched up in the back of Sirius's shirt.

Cherri could see herself clear as day, in both Sirius and Ginny. She had Sirius's thick black hair, grown out long into think corkscrew curls like her mother's red ones. She had Ginny's sparkling green eyes and her father's nose. Cherri sighed. That's enough for today, thanks. Cherri sighed again and began to change.

Cherri slipped out of her black Tripp pants, and put on her skin-tight faded-to-white bell bottoms that she had inherited from her mother. After rummaging in her trunk for a moment, Cherri pulled out a long-sleeved, black fishnet scoop-neck undershirt with her black tub top with MISFITS written in dark purple and the trademark Misfits skull underneath that barley even fit over her tits anymore. Cherri sighed – again – and traded her Converse for her green and black Etnies. Sitting down and looking in her compact mirror, Cherri put on some red lipstick - being careful to work around the lip ring with the rainbow ball in it that he mother had nearly killed her over during the summer -and black liquid eyeliner. _Good God Cherri, your going to scare him off! _Then again, Cherri thought darkly, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

A half hour later, just as the last few streaks of pink were fading from the sky, the train began to come to a halt. Cherri sighed – for the millionth time – and pulled on her black and red Dawn of the Dead hoodie. She checked herself in the window's reflection. What looked back at her was a short angry teenage witch with a lip ring, large breasts, too much jewelry, and a dead look in her eyes. At least Sirius would get an accurate first-impression.

Cherri descended the train onto the platform, and saw her father for the first time ever in person. He was a tall man – he was easily a foot taller than her own 5'3 frame – with hair almost as long as her own, which fell almost a full inch beneath her waist, striking dark storm-eyes and a very strong jaw. _Too strong of a jaw, arrogant prick…_Cherri focused on that jaw and scowled. They stood there for a full minute. "Hey," he said finally._ Hey? HEY? WTF OLD MAN??? _"Hey," Cherri said back to him in a monotone voice. They stood in silence for a few minutes longer. "I like your hair." Cherri internally slapped herself. _Way to be weird Cherri Marie, good going! _Sirius laughed quietly. "I could say the same for yours." They stood in silence for a while longer. Cherri had a Kill-Me-Now smile plaster onto her face. "Are we, uh, going to go inside?" Cherri asked quietly. "Oh, shit, yeah." Sirius laughed uncomfortably again. "Sorry about that…mind was roaming I guess." Cherri laughed a little. "Yeah…that happens."

Sirius took a step forward and Cherri instinctively took a step back. Sirius froze. "Um, your trunk?" Sirius said quietly, lifting his hand to retrieve it from her grasp. "Oh. Right." Cherri tossed it to him and together they began walking towards Hogwarts.

When they reached the castle, Sirius told her that they were in the entry hall. "This is the entry hall…to your right are the stairs – obviously – and to your left is the Great Hall – a cafeteria of sorts. Then straight ahead are the dungeons…and yeah, everything else on this floor is rattled with secret passage ways, class rooms that are no longer in use –"

"Secret passage ways?" Cherri asked excitedly. It was the only emotion that she'd really showed in the past half hour that Sirius had been with her. _At least I know she's not a bloody zombie…_Sirius though, only half-kidding.

"Yeah…I'm sure that you'll come to find that Hogwarts is just riddled with those." Sirius smiled mysteriously at his daughter, and for the first time since she first stepped off of the train, Sirius began to actually think that maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all. "Are you, er, hungry? Or tired? Or – what I'm trying to say is what would you like to do?" Sirius looked expectantly at his daughter. Still, he couldn't believe it – his _daughter_. _His_; Sirius Black. It was amazing, and more than a little scary.

"Um, aren't there houses at Hogwarts? Don't I have to be filed or something like that?" Cherri wasn't absolutely sure how it all worked – Ginny had just mentioned it to her briefly before she left. Sirius looked at her quizzically for a moment before he understood what she was talking about. "Aah, yes, the sorting, you mean? Since the year has already begun and everyone has already been sorted, I will call the teachers into my office and we'll have a private sorting for you." Cherri looked at him oddly. "That did sound a bit creepy, didn't it?" Cherri giggled, "Yeah, pretty much." They looked at each other for a moment.

Sirius looked at his daughter for a moment. With a pang in his chest, Sirius realized for the first time just how much of this girl's life that he had missed. She was beautiful; breathtaking really, she looked just like her mother, but darker and more cunning. Looking into Cherri's eyes, he could see something hard inside of her; something composed of more anger and hate than Sirius had seen looking back at him for a very long time. What was worse was that Sirius had no illusions about that look; that hate was all for him. It was like her exterior was custom made to try and reflect that rage that she had buried so deep within her. He looked at her for a moment longer, absorbing her lip ring, the clothing that she was years too young to be wearing and the make up that made her look like so many women he had known in the past. _Funny that_, Sirius thought morbidly, _they all hated me too_.

After a full tour of Hogwarts, at ten-thirty Cherri sat across from Sirius in his office. The staff was supposed to meet them there at ten-forty-five. Before that happened though, Sirius needed to go over some things with Cherri. He cleared his throat. Cherri looked up and again, there was that little pang in his chest. He ignored it. "Before the staff gets here, I need to talk to you about a few things." He looked at her expectantly. "Okay?" Cherri said razing her eyebrows, silently telling him to continue. "Alright…what has your mother told you about her and my relationship prior to your birth?" Cherri cast him a steady look. "Pretty much that you punk-ed out on her." Sirius's right eye sort of TWITCH-TWITCHED. He scowled. "That wasn't what I was referring to." Cherri crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Then be more specific – or better yet tell me what your point is." He could feel the beginnings of a migraine creeping up his forehead. He looked down at the table, took a deep steadying breath and looked back up at her. "No one knew that Ginny and I were together." Cherri's face contorted with something that she held back, and then darkened. "What is your point?" _Jesus_, Sirius thought with a mingled feeling of horror and amazement, _I'm really good at making this kid hate me_. "My point, sunshine, is that no one knows that you are mine." Cherri clenched her jaw. _Did he really just refer to me as a possession???!_ "Good deal, because I am not _yours_." She spat the word and stood up. _Wooah, she has my temper!_ Sirius was almost pleased that he noticed this. "Look Cherri, I didn't mean anything by that, I was just trying to talk to you. Please sit down? You can leave as soon as you are sorted, I you wish. Or you can stay and talk afterwards; your choice." She stood there a moment longer and then sighed. "Fine. I am sorry. I guess mum didn't warn you about my temper…" Sirius laughed nervously.

"Nope, she forgot to mention that bit. Look, what I'm trying to get to is that there are three teachers on staff – you've already seen one of them, the woman with brown hair? – she's married to professor Weasley, who is your mother's brother – he has red hair too, you'll spot him immediately - and professor Potter, who is a good friend of your grandparents. Ginny, until she feels that the time is right, requested that you not let any of those three – really _anyone_ for that matter, know that you're her daughter. They can know that you're my daughter, but she's just not ready to welcome her family back into her life right now. Also, it would jeopardize my position as headmaster if the media got hold of the fact that fourteen years ago I had sexual relations with someone who - at the time – was the same age as a lot of the students here…did I really just use the phrase 'sexual relations?"

Cherri felt sort of ill at his choice of words. "Yes, you did. And may I just say EEW? At least mom just says 'sex' or 'bang' or 'screw'….sexual relations….? Just….no…." Sirius couldn't help but laugh at Cherri's disgusted and slightly horrified look. She began to laugh too. A moment later there was a loud knock on the door, and Sirius managed to stop giggling. "Please come in." One by one the Hogwart's staff walked into the room and shook Cherri's hand, almost all of them giving her a comforting smile. "Harry Potter," a man with shaggy black hair, glasses, and eyes almost as green as her own greeted her first, "I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts and am the head of Gryffindor house." Cherri smiled back at him. "Hello, I'm sorry that I didn't introduce myself earlier. My name is Hermione Weasley, and I teach Transfiguration." Cherri smiled at her happily and thought; _at least it isn't some slimy_ git – "Draco Malfoy." Cherri stopped smiling. This man had white-blond hair, and a sneer to match her own. There was something wrong about him, but she couldn't identify what it was. "I teach Charms and am head of Slytherin." Cherri scowled; she actually liked Charms. "Lovely," she replied. Sirius hoped that no one noticed his grin. A woman with pink hair and grey-white eyes walked in. "Hello," she said airily as she waved to Cherri. "My name is Jazz Reynolds and I teach Muggle Studies; we're all very happy to have you here with us." She smiled warmly at Cherri; Cherri grinned at the image of this woman smoking pot in the restroom at lunch, she has to be a stoner, Cherri thought with a grin. Next a large man, no a giant – _literally_ - walked in a beamed down at the tiny Cherri. "'Ello! I'm 'Agrid, an' I teach Care o' Magical Creatures an' am groun' keeper here at Hogwarts" Thankfully, he didn't try to shake Cherri's hand. After that there was a very odd looking woman, named Professor Sprout, a centaur named Vector, and a very…masculine woman named Hooch.

After Sirius summoned chairs for everyone, he stood up and looked around the room. "My fellow professors," he looked at Harry and smiled, "it is with great pleasure that I come to introduce you all – formally – to Cherri Marie Warren. My daughter." A collective gasp went throughout the room. Professors Potter, and the Weasley's both looked shocked and more than a little bit outraged. "Quiet down, quiet down. I know that this has come as a great shock to some of you, and for that I apologize." The room was silent, looking between Cherri and Sirius as though trying to make sense of it in their minds.

"Now, on to more official business. Cherri has transferred here from Blue Lake, back in America. She is going to be a fourth year, and I have called you all here tonight to bear witness to her official sorting. Mr. Potter? Could you bring it out here please?" Cherri didn't know what exactly Potter was bringing out to them, but as Sirius had been speaking she had in turn been watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eye. _Bloody bastard…something isn't right about him_. Malfoy looked over and caught her watching him; he scowled at her. Cherri scowled back.

At that moment, Professor Potter returned, bringing with him a small wooden stool and a large, grungy looking hat. All of the teachers turned and looked at Cherri expectantly; Cherri looked at Sirius. He looked back. Then he looked confused. "Oh! Right, Cherri, this here is the sorting hat- " The hat stirred suddenly and then said happily "Hello!" Cherri jumped. "Did that…?" Sirius rolled his eyes in the direction of the Sorting hat. "Yes, it certainly just did. Now, all that you do is go pick up the hat, sit down and then put it on. He'll tell you which house your meant for. Cherri looked skeptically at Sirius. "Okaaay…", Cherri said as she stood and walked over to the stool. Sitting down she placed the Sorting hat on her head and waited. Again, the hat stirred and then he began to speak - _inside of Cherri's head_.

_Hmm…_the hat said. _Hmm….difficult indeed. There is power…__**so much power**__…but there is also bravery. And pride….determination….wow, that's some anger you've got there kid. _Cherri scowled again. _What's this? A Weasley! I should put you into Gryffindor! But wait…Black? That means Slytherin. But there's so much loyalty! Too much for the Slytherins…alright kid, just remember, no matter what happens, good and evil are not always as they may seem. _And with that final cryptic comment, the hat shouted "GRIFFENDOR!" and Cherri was, apparently, sorted.

A half an hour later, all of the professors except for Potter had left the headmaster's office. It was a little after eleven, and Cherri could tell that the two professors's wanted to have a word together. "Well," Cherri said standing, "I think that-" She stopped speaking as there was one loud knock on the door. Harry and Sirius looked at each other. "Enter," Sirius said in a loud voice. The door opened and Cherri laid eyes for the first time, on Sebastian Malfoy.


End file.
